Everyone knows that Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the NBA, but what makes him great?
The Milwaukee Bucks drafted Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft, and it has turned out to be one of the biggest steals in league history.
The Greek Freak has won two Most Valuable Player awards (2019 and 2020) and a championship (2021) and has continuously elevated his game throughout his career.
Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr has now explained exactly what it’s like to defend against Antetokounmpo.
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty ImagesWhy Giannis Antetokounmpo is different from other top-five NBA players
Antetokounmpo is arguably the best two-way player in the NBA, with reigning Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the only other contender.
There are not many Defensive Player of the Year award-winners who also average more than 30 points per game.
This highlights the difference between Antetokounmpo and most other superstars, including Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.
As Smith Jr shared on The Young Man and The Three podcast with Trey Murphy III, “you don’t see” the same high intensity on both ends of the court very often.
“He plays hard as s—,” he said. “Any time I’ve played him, he plays the same. He’s crashing the glass, he’s playing hard.
“You don’t see that from the top five players in the league. The energy he’s exerting, he’s playing hard.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo gave Jabari Smith Jr his ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment
Smith Jr actually played against Antetokounmpo in the second game of his rookie season and immediately realized that he was on another level.
The Rockets star admits that the two-time MVP gave him a ‘welcome to the NBA moment’ that he will always remember.
“In my second game in the NBA, we played against the Bucks. We’re going over film, and it’s ‘Jabari Smith-Antetokounmpo.’ He had like 36. He was like 14-16.
“We were in film prepping, and we were obviously saying, ‘build a wall.’ There was no wall the whole game. I felt like I was on an island. I was coming to the bench mad like, ‘Where is everybody at?’
“He was coming full speed, euro step, dunk… I felt like there was nothing I could do. He was posting up, and I was trying to front.
“There was nothing I could do, honestly, so it was a very ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment. John Lucas, who was our assistant coach, f—- with me all the time about it.”